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Paranoid Park

  • 2007
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
33K
YOUR RATING
Gabe Nevins in Paranoid Park (2007)
Theatrical Trailer from IFC
Play trailer2:11
1 Video
99+ Photos
Coming-of-AgePsychological DramaTeen DramaCrimeDramaMystery

A teenage skateboarder's life begins to fray after he is involved in the accidental death of a security guard.A teenage skateboarder's life begins to fray after he is involved in the accidental death of a security guard.A teenage skateboarder's life begins to fray after he is involved in the accidental death of a security guard.

  • Director
    • Gus Van Sant
  • Writers
    • Gus Van Sant
    • Blake Nelson
  • Stars
    • Gabe Nevins
    • Daniel Liu
    • Taylor Momsen
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    33K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Gus Van Sant
    • Writers
      • Gus Van Sant
      • Blake Nelson
    • Stars
      • Gabe Nevins
      • Daniel Liu
      • Taylor Momsen
    • 120User reviews
    • 178Critic reviews
    • 84Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 8 wins & 14 nominations total

    Videos1

    Paranoid Park
    Trailer 2:11
    Paranoid Park

    Photos107

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    Top cast54

    Edit
    Gabe Nevins
    Gabe Nevins
    • Alex
    Daniel Liu
    • Detective Richard Lu
    • (as Dan Liu)
    Taylor Momsen
    Taylor Momsen
    • Jennifer
    Jake Miller
    • Jared
    Lauren McKinney
    • Macy
    Scott Patrick Green
    • Scratch
    • (as Scott Green)
    John Michael Burrowes
    • Security Guard
    • (as John 'Mike' Burrowes)
    Grace Carter
    • Alex's Mom
    Jay 'Smay' Williamson
    • Alex's Dad
    Christopher Doyle
    Christopher Doyle
    • Uncle Tommy
    Dillon Hines
    • Henry
    Emma Nevins
    • Paisley
    Brad Peterson
    • Jolt
    Winfield Jackson
    • Christian
    • (as Winfield Henry Jackson)
    Joe Schweitzer
    • Paul
    Oliver Garnier
    Oliver Garnier
    • Cal
    Mubarak Ra'oof
    Mubarak Ra'oof
    • Ryan…
    Eric Anderson
    • Other Kid #1
    • Director
      • Gus Van Sant
    • Writers
      • Gus Van Sant
      • Blake Nelson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews120

    6.632.5K
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    Featured reviews

    6seawalker

    Not for everybody

    "Paranoid Park" is about what is going on in the head of a teenage boy after he has experienced a shattering trauma. He is dislocated and remote and 'not all there', or is he just in shock? It really is up to the audience to decide for themselves, because in an experimental movie like this one, no easy answers are forthcoming.

    In general I quite like Gus Van Sant's films, but be aware that you need to judge each of his films on their own merits. This is hardly the Gus Van Sant of Hollywoodian mild indie fare like "To Die For", "Psycho", "Good Will Hunting" or "Finding Forrester". Stylistically "Paranoid Park" is a close cousin to his later "Elephant". Low key, quiet, internalised, sometimes naturalistic, but often dreamy, and with a chronologically fractured time line. None of the actors seemed to be acting at all. Brilliant casting or brilliant acting? I am unsure.

    Not for everybody.
    8wrestlingguy87

    A film that makes you think...

    I've been a fan of Van Sant's films for a while now. I guess I could boil this interest down to the college influence. Art, in any form (but especially cinema), seems to resonate with my generation (1980's on). This film is the third in what I see as a three part series (the first two being Elephant and Last Days). All three surprisingly depict the attitude of the contemporary youth in a way that no other films have been able to do. I say surprisingly because it strikes me as odd that Van Sant would be able to so accurately capture the thoughts, feelings and attitudes of such a misunderstood generation. So often, parents of these children say such things as, "we did that when we were your age," or, "I can relate to what you are going through," but what these parents often fail to recognize is that although the things we encounter may be similar the times as Bob Dylan would say, "are a changin'." To capture the particular mindset of the youth of today is a feat in itself, but to do so and provide entertainment as well deserves at least a brief look.

    The film Paranoid Park itself seems to capture this way of thinking better than the previous two films. What starts as a simple rant about the modern youth becomes so much more. At first, you might find yourself thinking that the movie is somber,or perhaps unrealistic as the circumstances of the action are strange, but as you continue watching it the message that is trying to be conveyed becomes clear. This could have been you. This could have been me. It could have been you child, or the kid down the street. The common themes of teen flicks of drugs, sex, and rock and roll are pushed aside to highlight the internal strife of the protagonist. The "emo" music and distinctive fashion of this generational subculture seem all too real, and in the end you are left feeling as the main character does: silent and alone. Is this a movie about hope? I'm not sure. What I am sure about is that it deserves a chance. Paranoid Park could best be described as a much needed break from mainstream cinema, but more important, a film that might just make you think.
    8Quinoa1984

    skateboarder by way of Camus's the Stranger (in mood if not in total story likeness)

    Gus Van Sant's latest films have been some of the most idiosyncratic not just of his career but of independent film in America since 2000. He's jumped ship, momentarily, from the Hollywood machine (To Die For, Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester) and made films like Gerry, Elephant and Last Days as sort of poetic essays on film (yes, very pretentious, but they are poetic at least). His latest, Paranoid Park, at least could be called as something more of a story-driven narrative than any of the others, but it's still with a lyrical beat, driven by a mix-and-match of 8mm skateboarding footage and the malaise of a teen caught in that very recognizable, almost atypical state of mind at that age. Only here, it's probably more of a quiet, detached malaise that has within it a soul that is being sort of killed away piece by piece by the secret he holds.

    The teen is Alex (first timer Gabe Nevins), who was mostly responsible for the (very) grisly death of a security guard while he and a not-quite acquaintance from Paranoid Park's skating scene were riding carelessly along a slow-moving train. He shut it out of his mind, or tried to, until a police officer examining the case brought in photos of the deceased in a Q & A with all of the skaters at high school. This, pretty much, is the bedrock of the story, but aside from this it's the 'something' that is the story. The rest of the film shows this kid in a state of peril, but not of the sort that makes us think this is an immediate existential crisis. He feigns interest in a girlfriend (ditzy Jennifer played by Taylor Momsen), hangs out with his skater friends like Jared (also first-timer Jake Miller), and writes in a journal with a narration that's a mix of detached Travis Bickle and, well, awkward teen.

    What interested me was a mood I found Van Sant, intentionally or otherwise, was working with. I kept thinking back to a work like Camus's the Stranger, which had its 'hero' Mersault as a figure who wasn't exactly passionate and just a few heart beats above dead fish. There's something in this kids eyes, in his lack of reaction and in those long moments right after the train track scene as he is under the shower faucet in slow-motion. Actually, there's a lot of slow-motion, sometimes of walking, or ruminating, and as it builds with the narration and the mix of stark and experimental cinematography from the great Christopher Doyle (great at, you know, these kinds of art-house films), as part of Van Sant's method of character study.

    Alex's inability to connect, with friends, parents, authority figures, even his own impulse to release his inner thoughts, however brief and to the point ("I'm not much of a creative writer," Alex admits), is what is meant to absorb the viewer into Paranoid Park. For Van Sant, no matter what the excesses of the light touches of music (mostly from Nino Rota and Elliot Smith), or the slow-motion skateboarding (which I could go either way on as a casual admirer of the sport), or the bits that seem to have not much to do with anything aside from following a character in the midst of some thought (i.e. Alex on an escalator), it works as a feat of art for expressing its character, in the relatively short running time, like no other filmmaker would. It's somewhat challenging, but one that's worth taking for glimpses into a state of mind akin to the sobering existential and, more startling, the lack-of-coming-of-age to the character. 8.5/10
    7MartinTeller

    Paranoid Park (2007)

    This reminded me very much of ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU. Languid story about youth culture with a tragic turn of events, with distinctive use of music and camera technique. It's a tough film to classify, not quite a character study, not much of a thriller, more of a mood piece. I was a little perplexed at what Van Sant was aiming for (and particularly confused by the repeated snippets of score from JULIET OF THE SPIRITS) but it resonates and does a pretty good job of sucking you into its rhythms and offbeat structure. There are a few character moments that don't quite ring true, but this may be more a function of the non-professional cast than any fault of the screenplay. Shot beautifully by Chris Doyle on location here in Van Sant's hometown of Portland, it's always a kick to see familiar places (and faces... Ken Boddie!). It's not a DRUGSTORE COWBOY or a GERRY, but I liked it more than a lot of other Van Sants I've tried.
    7Robert_Woodward

    Another fine film from Gus Van Sant

    This is another fine film by Gus Van Sant which sadly seems to have overlooked by most cinemas and cinema-goers where I live. I attended one of three screenings at an almost-deserted local art-house cinema in Southampton. For me, however, this short, low-key film left a deep-impression.

    The non-narrative structure of the film means that the action on screen cuts back and forth in time around a central incident in which Alex, played by Gabe Nevins, causes the death of a security guard on a train track in Portland, Oregon, where the film is set. This shocking event is unveiled, appropriately enough, in the middle of the film. From very early it is more or less obvious what trouble Alex is in, so there is little sense of mystery about the film's events. However the non-narrative sequencing does allow for questions to float to the surface before explanations and elaborations begin to crop up later in the film, allowing the viewer to make connections and draw some conclusions for themselves. I quite enjoy this approach to story-telling although it does seem to be increasingly common (see Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Memento, et al).

    The cast, apparently consisting of local teenagers with little background in acting, turn in some fine performances, especially Gabe Nevins in the central role of Alex. Scenes in the film are interspersed with camcorder footage of teenagers skateboarding around Oregon, which is a novel touch and in keeping with the feel of Van Sant's films, which are realistic but more dreamlike than gritty.

    A special mention should go to the soundtrack in Paranoid Park, which is one of the strongest features of this film. The music ranges from rock (the Revolts) through folk (Elliott Smith) to classical (Beethoven) and musique concrete (Robert Normandeau). My favourite use of music in the film is in the opening shots of skateboarders in the skate park (from which the film's title is taken). Warm electronic tones and burblings envelope a continuous slow-motion camera shot of skateboarders as they rove around the the curves and angles of the park and the effect is really quite magical. (Having said that, I think there are one too many slow-motion shots later in this film which seem somewhat suspicious when the running time is less than 90 minutes...)

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Gus Van Sant created a Myspace page for open casting calls because he wanted non-professional actors for the cast. Around 2,971 people auditioned.
    • Goofs
      When Alex goes to Rebel Skates he gets a board with white wheels. Later after the scene where Alex and Jennifer discusses to buy condoms, the board Alex carries is a different board with green wheels. Later he has the board with white wheels again.
    • Quotes

      Alex: I just feel like there's something outside of normal life. Outside of teachers, breakups, girlfriends. Like, right out there, like outside - there's like different levels of... stuff.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Horton Hears a Who!/Never Back Down/10,000 B.C./Funny Games/Paranoid Park/Conspiracy (2008)
    • Soundtracks
      La Porticina Segreta
      from Juliette des esprits (1965)

      Written by Nino Rota

      Conducted by Carlo Savina

      Courtesy of C.A.M. S.r.l. (p) 1965 C.A.M. S.r.l.

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    FAQ19

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 24, 2007 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • MK2 Productions (France)
      • Official MySpace
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Công Viên Hoang Tưởng
    • Filming locations
      • Burnside Skatepark, Portland, Oregon, USA
    • Production companies
      • MK2 Productions
      • Meno Films
      • Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $3,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $486,767
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $29,828
      • Mar 9, 2008
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,545,747
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 25m(85 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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